United in Doctrine

Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture from the book of Philippians.

Philippians 2:1-15 (KJB)  If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

First of all, the Apostle talks about being like-minded, which is to share the same Spiritual mindset with each other. For example, consider all of the players on a baseball team, who have united together for one main purpose, to win the game. But everybody on the team needs to be of the same mindset, because they are all functioning as one unit together.

Ephesians 4:1-16 (KJB)  I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) 

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

The Apostle mentions being united in the faith, and in order to share oneness with each other, you obviously must be united together in the same doctrine. Can you imagine going to the first day of school, and the teacher hands out twenty different textbooks to each of the students? That sounds ridiculous doesn’t it, because they are so different from each other that the kids wouldn’t even be able to follow along. You cannot allow yourself to be deceived or led astray by others, in fact, it is the teachings of the one true faith that solidifies unity, rather than creating division among the flock of God. Knowing and obeying the will of God is paramount to one’s own salvation, 

1 Corinthians 1:10-11 (KJB)  Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.

The Apostle lists some of these doctrines in the following passages, teaching the church to put on these Divine qualities in our hearts and in our minds. 

Colossians 3:12-14 (KJB)  Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.

1 Peter 3:8-9 (KJB)  Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.

Unity in the church should never come at the expense of biblical doctrine. Men of God were put forth for this very reason, to educate others in the will of God, and when everybody shares the same beliefs, it’s truly a wonderful thing.

Psalms 133:1 (KJB)  Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

It’s a great thing to love one another in the church and your neighbor as yourself, but love for God is the first commandment. We must strive each day for a good and obedient heart, always making sure that we continue to remain,……

……..United in Doctrine

Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.

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